C&NW No. 1385 return to Mid-Continent museum postponed

Steam locomotive by concrete coaling tower

NORTH FREEDOM, Wis. — The move, scheduled to begin May 5, bringing Chicago & North Western 4-6-0 No. 1385 back to the Mid-Continent Railway Museum has been postponed, says Jeffrey Lentz, museum office manager. A statement from the museum indicates that the trucking firm slated to handle the road move withdrew its services “on short […]

Read More…

Woodstown Central steam locomotive sidelined (updated)

Black and gray steam locomotive with large smoke plume running in woods.

WOODSTOWN, N.J. — Woodstown Central Railroad steam locomotive No. 9, an Alco 0-6-0, suffered an overheated journal on its central axle during the 12 p.m. excursion on April 18. The railroad’s mechanical team determined the damage was beyond in-house repair capabilities at its South Woodstown, N.J., shop. The wheelset has been removed for repairs at […]

Read More…

CPKC says FRA is open to automated and streamlined track and train inspections

Grain train led by red locomotive

CALGARY, Alberta — Canadian Pacific Kansas City executives say they are encouraged by discussions with the Federal Railroad Administration about rolling out new track and train inspection technology. It’s a turnabout for the FRA, which during the Biden administration stymied Class I railroad efforts to combine automated track and equipment inspections with traditional visual inspections […]

Read More…

Machinists approve national rail contract

Logo of International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers

ARLINGTON, Va. — Members of the International Association of Machinists have ratified a new national agreement with the National Carriers Conference Committee, bargaining group for the National Railway Labor Conference. The ratification announced today (May 1, 2025) makes the IAM the ninth union to finalize a contract during the current round of bargaining and means […]

Read More…

BNSF thins chief dispatcher ranks

FORT WORTH, Texas — BNSF Railway has eliminated 20 chief dispatching positions at its Network Operations Center. “We consolidated some duties to better reflect the flow of traffic on our network,” railroad spokesman Zak Andersen says. “Those affected will return to their previous roles as dispatchers.” Separately, BNSF is seeking to extend a crew district […]

Read More…

Senate bill would update key short line tax credit

Blue and yellow locomotives switching

WASHINGTON — In a companion move to earlier House legislation, two U.S. Senators have introduced a bill to update a key tax credit for short line infrastructure investment. Like the House version, the Senate bill — S.1532, introduced on Wednesday, April 30 — has bipartisan sponsorship. In this case, it comes from Sens. Mike Crapo […]

Read More…

Colorado rail safety bill advances

Orange locomotive and coal train

DENVER — Colorado has joined the lengthy list of states where lawmakers are seeking to address rail safety, but its legislators are taking a different approach. Senate Bill 162 would charge a fee to state’s Class I railroads and passenger operators to fund the hiring of safety inspectors by a state rail safety agency. It […]

Read More…

US weekly rail traffic still ahead of 2024 levels

Weekly table showing U.S. carload rail traffic by commodity type, plus overall intermodal volume

​​WASHINGTON — Weekly U.S. rail volume remains ahead of 2024 levels — at least for now. Amid reports that import traffic from China is about to drop dramatically, with an almost-certain impact on intermodal volume, both carload and intermodal traffic remained above previous-year levels for the week ending April 26, 2025. Statistics from the Association […]

Read More…